Various embodiments of this invention relate generally to endoscopic medical examination or surgery, as well as temperature sensing or mapping in medical applications.
Past endoscopic medical procedures involve a flexible conduit capable of relaying images that is inserted into a patient's body. Other tools may also be inserted to measure parameters such as temperature or to perform surgery. Specifically, fiber-optic temperature sensors employed for medical applications are typically inserted into a patient and guided to a particular location using an x-ray or other imaging system, thus providing a limited two-dimensional view. Alternatively, an endoscope may be used to aid in directing and positioning a sensing tip of a fiber optic thermometer within a patient's body. However, this process involves two separate components so that the endoscope may have to be re-positioned and re-oriented when the fiber is moved. It also involves having to manipulate at least two different instruments (endoscope and fiber thermometer).
It is therefore a need to develop a single endoscope-like instrument capable of imaging and temperature measurement within a patient's body.